Category — Real Estate

I posted recently about two lovely entrances in the Russian River town of Guerneville. I wanted to broaden my rustic selections to include two urban entrances in Healdsburg near the famed Healdsburg Plaza. Both of these are on Center Street half a block down from the Oakville Grocery. The first entry is a classic American white picket fence. The Saggio Hills office features extra detailing on the pickets including a routed groove down the center and well shaped tips. The entrance itself has double swinging gates, usually left open to invite people inside. The gate is tree shaded with a hint of roof feeling, echoing the full arbor we saw on the rustic wooden Guerneville gate. The pickets repeat the vertical railing on the porch as a strong architectural element. If Saggio Hills executes as well on their high end development as they have on their downtown office, it will be a welcome addition to Healdsburg’s resort reputation.

The Barn Diva walking entrance features a thick, square-cornered stone wall entry capped by plants flanking either side. Unlike the continuous hedge in the stone wall from the Armstrong Woods area, these accent plants highlight the entry, but don’t block the view of the restaurant or courtyard from passersby. The wall is a comfortable height for seated privacy in the courtyard, but isn’t a visual barrier to the doors and windows of the restaurant. There is an iron gate that is closed in this photo, and the restaurant was closed as well. The gate serves as a convenient way to indicate the availability of service. Menus and hours of operation are posted on the wall along the sidewalk for the convenience of the public.

Farther down the road is a driveway for Barn Diva accented by a taller iron gate, more appropriate to vehicles than people. The gate is set into the same thick stone wall but is large enough to physically block access to people and vehicles. Behind the gate you can see the vertical landscape elements that pick up the vertical siding on the architecturally interesting Barn Diva building.

Both of these entrances serve commercial establishments well. They are open and inviting when required, and closeable, but not intimidating, when their businesses aren’t open. All of the entrances we’ve looked at feature smart planting to emphasize “doorness” in their walls with plant materials that include flowers, hedge materials, and trees. Let me know if you see a great entrance in your neighborhood.

Congratulations to Levi Leipheimer for his third place finish in this year’s Tour de France. Levi’s a home town guy and we’re all proud of his tremendous effort and success in the world’s toughest race. It turns out that Levi rides twice a week on Pine Flat Road east of Healdsburg. Pine Flat runs from near the Jimtown store in the Alexander Valley all the way to the ridge that overlooks the Geyser’s geothermal fields. This riding article compares the climb up Pine Flat Road to Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin, Stage 16, July 25 (8.9 miles, 2,414-foot vertical, 5.2% average). I have never tried a ride like that, so I couldn’t say anything about the difficulty. I could, however, comment on the beautiful views from the top of the mountains near the geysers, and the beautiful scenes in Mayacamas Mountains Audubon Sanctuary, a 1,400 acre preserve.

If you are interested in country property and decide to follow Levi’s path up the hill, there are a couple of interesting parcels that Eric Drew from Healdsburg Sotheby’s Inernational Realty has available today.

5745 Pine Flat Rd is just a few minutes from Jim Town Store near the beginning of Pine Flat Road. It is a 52 ac home site for $1.45M (with water and perc) with a storage/workshop and an abandoned olive orchard. For a big photo gallery, please go to http://picasaweb.google.com/ericdrew/5745PineFlatRd

The second intriguing land value is just under a square mile of property near the end of Levi’s training ride. It’s 620 acres on Pine Flat Rd about 25 minutes from Jim Town Store and about 30 min to Healdsburg. This very large parcel made up of seven separate AP numbers is priced at $1,595,000. It includes a hunting cabin, good springs, and electricity supplied by the Geysers. I’ve got a nice 4 MB pdf file about this property that I’m happy to send if you drop me an email. The thing to keep in mind about this land is the spectacular views and privacy. It takes a good half an hour to get here, but the road is paved all the way. This is remote, but not inaccessible.

I also want to let you know that for Healdsburg’s 150th birthday celebration a few weeks ago, Daniel Drew reprinted a historic book about a trip to the Geysers in around 1870. It’s a fascinating account of the times and the Geysers when they were one of the natural wonders of the world. I’ll be happy to send you a copy if you ask for one.

Healdsburg has a great collection of Victorians downtown. Matheson St, a main artery to the Healdsburg plaza, has both modest and large examples of what are often called painted ladies. Martin Humphrey’s current listing is an interesting opportunity since it includes not just a Victorian with classically good bones, but five extra units on the .43 acre lot. I want to talk about TIC (Tenants in Common) in a future posting, but Martin has some ideas about how this property could be structured for either multiple ownership, or a single owner who fixes the Victorian to live in and uses the five other units for rental income. In any case, have a look at the show and give me a call if you’d like to see this gem.

Real estate along the Russian River ranges from classic vacation getaways to long stretches of riparian vegetation that borders the miles of vineyards in the Russian River Valley and Alexander Valley. Public access is spotty at best with Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville, Steelhead Beach in Forestville, and Memorial Beach in Healdsburg as the best spots for a family to get to the water safely and legally. There are neighborhood beaches, of course, but in practice they belong to the people that live nearby. There are a few opportunities in Guerneville and Rio Nido to acquire river front property today.

Today Charles Brown from CPS showed me around this Guerneville listing on River Road. It’s got almost 750 feet of river frontage and some land in each of LC and K zoning. This large parcel (3+ acres) has most of the land in the flood way and the rest of it in the flood plain. The technical difference is that the flood way has actively moving water that would tend to knock down a building. You can’t build there. The flood plain has standing water which will damage unprotected wood, but doesn’t carry the same risk of impact damage. You can build in those areas if you elevate your home above the 100 year floods. This property would be great for a campground or other recreational activity.

I was looking for a multi-unit building for sale on Morgan Street in Santa Rosa last week when I came across a beautiful round porch. If you’re new to my blog you probably don’t realize that I’m a lover of architectural details in general and round porches in particular. Round porches represent a powerful expression of carpenter art and talent that isn’t matched by many other details. This porch includes a wonderfully constructed curved wall pictured here. Sonoma County real estate includes many round porches, particularly in Healdsburg. Next time you’re walking in your neighborhood, see if you can spot any curved porches or other sweet architectural details. I’d love to hear from you if you find something you love.

Bungalow is an interesting term. Real estate people use it for almost anything small, but it actually comes from Bangalore in India where the colonial English started using it as a term to refer to the residences built for them based on traditional architecture. The key features are single story construction with a wide verandah. There are many more key details that help define the bungalow style.

Bungalows were first built in the late 1800’s and the style remained extremely popular in the first part of the twentieth century. Bungalows in America were a residential expression of the Arts and Crafts movement which in turn was strongly influenced by the Craftsman movement. California set the pace and bungalows became almost synonymous with California.

Most of the cities in Sonoma County have great examples of bungalows. Click on View Listings to see one bungalow for sale in Santa Rosa and three bungalows for sale in Petaluma that I pulled from the MLS today. There were quite a few more listed, but they lacked the “bungalow essence” I wanted to show you. Let me know if you are interested in any of these. I’d be happy to show them to you.

One of my favorite pastimes is planning dream homes on the great Sonoma County properties I get to look at. Real estate is something everybody gets to have opinions about and our Healdsburg Sotheby’s International Realty office is no different than any place else. Some people talk about living a country lifestyle. Others are choosing to build urban refuges with minimal landscaping chores and an easy walk to restaurants. For me, the best places are either exceptional fixers with great potential that I can restore to their original glory or completely raw pieces of property in need of an environmentally sensitive and artistic approach to landscape and construction. This Alexander Valley vineyard listing from Yvonne Horton in my office is a perfect fit for the second type of project.

First of all, the Alexander Valley is a naturally beautiful place. There’s a reason Cyrus Alexander chose it more than 150 years ago for his home and ranch. The Mayacamas mountains on the east provide a dramatic backdrop to the valley floor and the Russian River which winds it’s way south from Cloverale to Healdsburg. The 25 acres of vineyards on the property are on the valley floor which is flat enough to provide easy cultivation on the fertile alluvial soils. Last year production was 105 tons, primarily Chardonnay.

Closer to the river the land turns to a riparian flavor with plenty of willows and other bank holding plants. There was a quarry here at one time and the sand and gravel bars that front the river show ample evidence of the Russian River’s rock moving capability. It’s here, nearer the river, that I would envision a big family compound. A big main house with a country kitchen and party sized great room for friends and family together. There’s plenty of room for kitchen gardens, orchards, chickens and ducks and geese, and all the other small farm livestock that’s fun to have around. There’s room for a pool or a pond, and there’s always the long and private stretches along the Russian River where you can enjoy a naturalist’s holiday.

Sigh…I can’t buy it today. Maybe you can. Here’s some more details

Sebastopol real estate is not noted for whimsy. There are classic farm houses, beautiful bungalows, and plenty of contemporary country estates tucked in among the apple orchards and vineyards. There’s one piece of real estate in Sebastopol, however, that defines whimsy. Florence Street comes alive with a menagerie of creatures that spring from the creative minds of Patrick Amiot and Brigitte Laurent.

If you are bold enough to live on a street that embraces art and whimsy, I’d be happy to help you find real estate in Sebastopol. Our map search is a great way to see where Sebastopol properties for sale are located in relation to the city.

Some see ruin, failing brick foundation, peeling paint, sagging floors, and throw up their hands in despair. I see classic lines, the pride of the original designer and builder, and the heart of Healdsburg location. I have loved this house since I first saw it twenty years ago, and it has been sad to witness her slow and avoidable deterioration. There has been the occasional paint job slapped on the great lady to hide and slow the aging process, but gravity is working it’s will. Without the prompt intervention of a new owner to repair foundations and roofs, it will be even harder to save her.

On the positive side of the ledger, she is now in the hands of someone who wants to sell. The house is on a very big lot and the potential to subdivide the lot can help underwrite the high initial cost of purchase and rehab. I am eager to help a restoration-minded buyer acquire this landmark property.

The grande dame around the corner on North St is my favorite Healdsburg fixer, but this “white elephant in the rough” ranks right up there as a challenging repair prospect. Several owners have pondered remodel, tear down, new house, refit, and haven’t managed to find the right combination. There are plans for a new house, but I still think lifting the house to create parking underneath and repairing the house could create a great shared housing project. Sadly, almost all of the original detailing is gone on the interior, but the gutting of the house makes it much easier to see what needs to be done and to create an efficient and modern internal floor plan with up to date wiring, plumbing, insulation, etc.

The outside still has some wonderful details and an architectural presence that isn’t timeless, but is solid and genuine. In any case, this is an interesting opportunity for a project as close to the Healdsburg plaza as you are going to find.